Wall cabinet

ABSTRACT

Wall cabinets particularly those to be incorporated in bathroom walls bordering shower stalls are disclosed, and having an entrance transversely of its top wall and rearwardly of its outer edge to open rearwardly of the wall layer or layers attached to the studs and flange structure to serve in enabling a tight joint to be established between it and the wall material abutting it. A door is vertically slidable through the entrance and has a closed position in which it is upwardly and rearwardly inclined with its lower end including a transverse portion overlying the outer edge of the bottom wall.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Doris C. Wiley 7 Box 44,Greenbush, Mass. 02040;

Robert S. Wiley, 6 43 Auburn Street, Whitman, Mm 02382 7 M9 l 911.. w 1 2. a u 7 A o. d m wmm AH? .111. I125 224 [1.1.

[54] WALL CABINET 4 Clalms,4 Drawing gs- [52] Us cl ABSTRACT: Wall cabinets particularly those to be incorporated in bathroom walls bordering shower-stalls are disclosed, and having an entrance transversel rearwardly of its outer edge to open rearwardl layer or layers attached to the studs and flan 229, 242, 245, 246, 247, 304, 306, 307; 220/93 6 0 0 0M 0/ /.l 2 8 1.6 m73 4 A m h m M a h F l. l. l 0 5 5 l .l

serve in enabling a tight joint to be established the wall material abutting it. A door is vertical] through the entrance and has a closed position in [56] References Cited upwardly and rearwardly inclined with its lower end includin UNITED. STATES PATENTS a transverse portion overlying the outer ed 8/1930 Rosener wall.

a V 1 1 d 4 7 6 8 l W o wl e PATENTEDAUB31 1971 SHEET 1 [IF 2 WALL CABINET The present invention relates to cabinets adapted to be incorporated in a bathroom wall, particularly in one bordering a shower.

While cabinets in accordance with the invention may be mounted in any wall, they are particularly well suited for use in bathrooms where presently, as in the case of a wall bordering a tub or shower, the risk of water damage to supplies makes the use of wall cabinets therefor undesirable even though having certain supplies readily available to one taking a bath or shower would be a real convenience.

The general objective of the invention is to provide a cabinet to be set in a bathroom wall and provide protection for its contents even though exposed to splashed water or spray. In accordance with the invention, this objective is attained with a cabinet dimensioned to be incorporated in the wall structure between two studs with a slot in its top wall spaced from the front of the cabinet to open rearwardly of the wall layer or layers secured to the studs so that a vertically slidable door having a combined finger grip and water shield overlying the outer edge of the bottom wall may be raised to expose desired cabinet contents.

Another objective of the invention is to provide the cabinet with flange structure to enable a tight joint to be established between the cabinet and abutting margins or portions of the wall.

Another objective of the invention is to provide the sidewalls of the cabinet with door-receiving channels upwardly and rearwardly inclined to provide a corresponding inclined position for the vertically sliding door.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown an embodiment of the invention illustrative of these and other of its objectives, novel features, and advantages.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a section taken transversely through a bathroom wall showing an installed cabinet as seen from its upper end,

FIG. 2 is a front view of the installed cabinet,

FIG. 3 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 3-3 ofFlG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary face view of the door showing the latch.

A typical wall structure has studs 5 with a wall layer 6 such as sheetrock nailed thereto. The wall structure, in the case of bathrooms is completed by securing a finishing layer to the layer 6, the finishing layer being shown as tiles 7.

A cabinet in accordance with the invention is generally rectangular with an open front and is shown as of a width less than the spacing between the studs 5 which often varies. As in the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the cabinet is to be secured to the studs 5 between which it is fitted as by screws 8 extending through the cabinet sidewalls 9, a filler or anchor strip 10 is required at either one or both sides of the cabinet.

The cabinet has an outwardly disposed flange 11 extending along its sidewalls 9, its top wall 12 and its bottom wall 13 adjacent to the front of the cabinet but spaced therefrom by a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the tiles 7 to serve as a backing for overlapping margins or portions thereof and to make a watertight seal marginally of the cabinet. The flanges 11 are shown as seated against the outer edges of the anchor strips 10 which may readily be located to ensure the desired position of the front of the cabinet relative to the tiles.

The cabinet sidewalls 9 have transversely aligned channels 14 shown as formed by inwardly disposed pairs of parallel ribs 14A. The channels 14 are inclined upwardly towards the back is slidabl confined by the channels 14 with its u per end closing the s 0t 16 and with its lower end provide with a transverse member 18, desirably including an outwardly and downwardly curving flange 19 overlying the bottom of the cabinet and the subjacent tiles and spaced therefrom to serve both as a finger grip and a water shield.

The member 18 is also provided with a bore 20, see FIG. 4, opening through one of its ends to slidably confine a locking pin 21 backed by a spring 22 and connected through a slot 23 to a knob 24. The cabinet sidewalls 9 and its back wall have internal flanges 25 and 26, respectively, providing support for a removable shelf 27. One sidewall 9 has sockets 28 and 29 in the path of the locking pin 21 as the door 17 is raised and adapted to receive and hold the locking pin 21 thus to hold the door until it is retracted by means of the knob 24. The socket 28 is shown as located sufficiently above it to permit access to articles on the shelf 27 with a substantial part of the door 16 still held by the channels 14. The top wall 12 of the cabinet is provided with upwardly disposed braces 30 engageable by the raised door 17 and providing additional support therefor.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that cabinets in accordance with the invention are well adapted to meet a wide range of requirements including ease of installation even in a completed wall. The cabinets may be molded from suitable plastics and when installed, their contents, while readily available, are protected against water even if the cabinet is located in the shower zone.

We claim:

1. A wall cabinet to be incorporated in a wall structure having inner and outer layers, said cabinet having a slot extending transversely of its top and spaced from the front edge thereof to be close but rearwardly of the inner layer of the wall structure when the cabinet is anchored in place, said cabinet also including flange structure projecting laterally to serve as a backing layer for the outer layer of the wall structure, and a door slidable in a vertical direction through said slot and including a transverse member at its lower edge to rest on the bottom of the cabinet and then overlie the subjacent edge of the wall structure.

2. A wall cabinet having a slot extending transversely of its top and spaced from the front edge thereof to be close to but rearwardly of its wall structure in which it is incorporated, the side of said cabinet including inwardly disposed, transversely aligned channels opening into the ends of said slot and extend ing forwardly and downwardly to the bottom of its cabinet adjacent the front edges thereof, and a door slidably supported by said slideway and dimensioned to pass through said slot to enable the cabinet to be opened and including a transverse member at its lower edge to rest on the bottom of the cabinet and then overlie the subjacent edge of the wall structure.

3. The cabinet of claim 1 in which one sidewall has sockets spaced along the path of the door and the transverse member includes latching means having a socket-entering pin.

4. The cabinet of claim 1 and upwardly projecting brace means for the support of the door in elevated positions thereof. 

1. A wall cabinet to be incorporated in a wall structure having inner and outer layers, said cabinet having a slot extending transversely of its top and spaced from the front edge thereof to be close but rearwardly of the inner layer of the wall structure when the cabinet is anchored in place, said cabinet also including flange structure projecting laterally to serve as a backing layer for the outer layer of the wall structure, and a door slidable in a vertical direction through said slot and including a transverse member at its lower edge to rest on the bottom of the cabinet and then overlie the subjacent edge of the wall structure.
 2. A wall cabinet having a slot extending transversely of its top and spaced from the front edge thereof to be close to but rearwardly of its wall structure in which it is incorporated, the side of said cabinet including inwardly disposed, transversely aligned channels opening into the ends of said slot and extending forwardly and downwardly to the bottom of its cabinet adjacent the front edges thereof, and a door slidably supported by said slideway and dimensioned to pass through said slot to enable the cabinet to be opened and including a transverse member at its lower edge to rest on the bottom of the cabinet and then overlie the subjacent edge of the wall structure.
 3. The cabinet of claim 1 in which one sidewall has sockets spaced along the path of the door and the transverse member includes latching means having a socket-entering pin.
 4. The cabinet of claim 1 and upwardly projecting brace means for the support of the door in elevated positions thereof. 